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Food Over Medicine: The Conversation That Could Save Your Life
Includes recipes from Chef Del Sroufe, author of the bestselling Forks Over Knives—The Cookbook and Better Than Vegan
Nearly half of Americans take at least one prescription medicine, with almost a quarter taking three or more, as diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and dementia grow more prevalent than ever. The problem with medicating common ailments, such as high blood pressure or elevated cholesterol, is that drugs treat symptoms—and may even improve test results—without addressing the diet.
Overmedicated, overfed, and malnourished, most Americans fail to realize the answer to lower disease rates doesn't lie in more pills but in the foods we eat.With so much misleading nutritional information regarded as common knowledge, from “everything in moderation" to “avoid carbs," the average American is ill-equipped to recognize the deadly force of abundant, cheap, unhealthy food options that not only offer no nutritional benefits but actually bring on disease.
In Food Over Medicine , Pamela A. Popper, PhD, ND, and Glen Merzer invite the reader into a conversation about the dire state of American health—the result of poor nutrition choices stemming from food politics and medical misinformation. But, more important, they share the key to getting and staying healthy for life.
Backed by numerous scientific studies, Food Over Medicine details how dietary choices either build health or destroy it. Food Over Medicine reveals the power and practice of optimal nutrition in an accessible way.
Nearly half of Americans take at least one prescription medicine, with almost a quarter taking three or more, as diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and dementia grow more prevalent than ever. The problem with medicating common ailments, such as high blood pressure or elevated cholesterol, is that drugs treat symptoms—and may even improve test results—without addressing the diet.
Overmedicated, overfed, and malnourished, most Americans fail to realize the answer to lower disease rates doesn't lie in more pills but in the foods we eat.With so much misleading nutritional information regarded as common knowledge, from “everything in moderation" to “avoid carbs," the average American is ill-equipped to recognize the deadly force of abundant, cheap, unhealthy food options that not only offer no nutritional benefits but actually bring on disease.
In Food Over Medicine , Pamela A. Popper, PhD, ND, and Glen Merzer invite the reader into a conversation about the dire state of American health—the result of poor nutrition choices stemming from food politics and medical misinformation. But, more important, they share the key to getting and staying healthy for life.
Backed by numerous scientific studies, Food Over Medicine details how dietary choices either build health or destroy it. Food Over Medicine reveals the power and practice of optimal nutrition in an accessible way.
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
200 people are currently reading
2616 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 97 reviews
August 13, 2017
This is a brilliant book about how many chronic diseases can be treated through food, rather than through medicine. Pamela Popper is a naturalist, an expert on nutrition, and founder of Wellness Forum Health. She and her coauthor, Glen Merzer, wrote a book in a conversational style. It is written like a transcript of a formal interview. This conversational style helped to engage me; instead of feeling link merely a passive reader, I felt like I was there in the room with these two very thoughtful people.
Diseases like heart disease, dementia, diabetes, and obesity are usually treated in Western medicine using pills and often with invasive procedures and surgery. The authors claim that this is rarely necessary. A truly healthy diet may not be a 100% cure-all, but it can go very far in reducing these diseases.
Popper advocates a food pyramid consisting of beans, rice, corn, and potatoes at the bottom, steamed and raw vegetables and big salads next, and fruits at the top. While a diet strictly of fruits and vegetables works for a short while, but in the long run does not supply enough calories. Starch must be a staple of the diet. This is exactly the message of the book by Dr. John McDougall, The Starch Solution: Eat the Foods You Love, Regain Your Health, and Lose the Weight for Good!. I loved this quote from Popper,
The most self-destructive nutritional habit of Americans is consuming milk products. Mil increases the production of IGF-1 (Insulin-like Growth Factor) which helps a calf to grow to several hundred pounds in a short period of time. IGF-1 is a powerful promoter of cancer in humans. The single best thing you can do for your health is to cut out dairy. There is no upside in dairy. While milk contains calcium, the net result of consuming milk is to deplete, not to add, calcium to your body. Dairy is linked to asthma, allergies, chronic constipation, ear infections, MS, autoimmune diseases, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and even to osteoporosis. A genetically susceptible child consuming dairy is more likely to develop juvenile diabetes than a smoker to develop lung cancer. Popper recommends that we stop subsidizing the meat and dairy industries, allow the price of cheeseburger to skyrocket; this will improve health more than Obamacare ever could. The government cannot end the public health crisis. People have to take their health into their own hands.
And the second worst habit is drinking calories. Sodas and even fruit juice contain a lot of sugar, but little in the way of nutritional value.
About 90% of Americans think they are eating a healthy diet. They are totally wrong about this. Popper recommends a diet consisting of up to 10% protein, less than 15% fat, and the remainder should be unprocessed carbohydrates.
There is a lot of discussion about how Western medicine is often misguided. Doctors treat biomarkers instead of health. It is possible to have great blood work and poor health. Popper mentions the emphasis on high HDL/LDL cholesterol ratio, which is entirely misplaced. If LDL is low, then HDL can also be low. If a doctor tells you that your cholesterol level is 220, he may recommend Lipitor, which will decrease your risk of dying of a heart attack by 1.8%, but with lots of side effects. Instead, you could change your diet, and that will work faster than a drug. Moreover, it will almost entirely reduce the risk of dying of a heart attack. And, without side effects, it will also reduce your risk of dying from diabetes, some forms of cancer, and other diseases.
Popper challenges Michael Moore, before he makes any more misguided documentaries about health. She charges him with getting thin and healthy. She recommends going outside the traditional medical channels, as did Bill Clinton with a whole-food plant-based diet. Then Moore will produce a different kind of documentary, one with credibility.
Popper is clearly a naturalist. She maintains that annual medical checkups are useless. Most types of scans are worse than useless. The only good use of some types of scans is to scare a patient into improving his diet.
The book includes an inset with a couple dozen recipes with delicious-looking color photos. I have never seen vegan recipes presented in such a mouth-watering setting!
Diseases like heart disease, dementia, diabetes, and obesity are usually treated in Western medicine using pills and often with invasive procedures and surgery. The authors claim that this is rarely necessary. A truly healthy diet may not be a 100% cure-all, but it can go very far in reducing these diseases.
Popper advocates a food pyramid consisting of beans, rice, corn, and potatoes at the bottom, steamed and raw vegetables and big salads next, and fruits at the top. While a diet strictly of fruits and vegetables works for a short while, but in the long run does not supply enough calories. Starch must be a staple of the diet. This is exactly the message of the book by Dr. John McDougall, The Starch Solution: Eat the Foods You Love, Regain Your Health, and Lose the Weight for Good!. I loved this quote from Popper,
When people tell me carbohydrates are fattening, I tell them 'You know, two billion Asians never got that memo.'The medical establishment often downplays the role of diet in maintaining health, because they don't see results from the "minimal half-assed dietary changes" they usually recommend.
The most self-destructive nutritional habit of Americans is consuming milk products. Mil increases the production of IGF-1 (Insulin-like Growth Factor) which helps a calf to grow to several hundred pounds in a short period of time. IGF-1 is a powerful promoter of cancer in humans. The single best thing you can do for your health is to cut out dairy. There is no upside in dairy. While milk contains calcium, the net result of consuming milk is to deplete, not to add, calcium to your body. Dairy is linked to asthma, allergies, chronic constipation, ear infections, MS, autoimmune diseases, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and even to osteoporosis. A genetically susceptible child consuming dairy is more likely to develop juvenile diabetes than a smoker to develop lung cancer. Popper recommends that we stop subsidizing the meat and dairy industries, allow the price of cheeseburger to skyrocket; this will improve health more than Obamacare ever could. The government cannot end the public health crisis. People have to take their health into their own hands.
And the second worst habit is drinking calories. Sodas and even fruit juice contain a lot of sugar, but little in the way of nutritional value.
About 90% of Americans think they are eating a healthy diet. They are totally wrong about this. Popper recommends a diet consisting of up to 10% protein, less than 15% fat, and the remainder should be unprocessed carbohydrates.
There is a lot of discussion about how Western medicine is often misguided. Doctors treat biomarkers instead of health. It is possible to have great blood work and poor health. Popper mentions the emphasis on high HDL/LDL cholesterol ratio, which is entirely misplaced. If LDL is low, then HDL can also be low. If a doctor tells you that your cholesterol level is 220, he may recommend Lipitor, which will decrease your risk of dying of a heart attack by 1.8%, but with lots of side effects. Instead, you could change your diet, and that will work faster than a drug. Moreover, it will almost entirely reduce the risk of dying of a heart attack. And, without side effects, it will also reduce your risk of dying from diabetes, some forms of cancer, and other diseases.
Popper challenges Michael Moore, before he makes any more misguided documentaries about health. She charges him with getting thin and healthy. She recommends going outside the traditional medical channels, as did Bill Clinton with a whole-food plant-based diet. Then Moore will produce a different kind of documentary, one with credibility.
Popper is clearly a naturalist. She maintains that annual medical checkups are useless. Most types of scans are worse than useless. The only good use of some types of scans is to scare a patient into improving his diet.
The book includes an inset with a couple dozen recipes with delicious-looking color photos. I have never seen vegan recipes presented in such a mouth-watering setting!
July 22, 2013
I found this book disappointing. Let me summarize it here: if you don't eat a low-fat, oil-free (no nuts or avocados), plant-based diet, you are slowly killing yourself. Unless you are a vegan or are planning to be one, this book is not helpful. It does contain some interesting info about pharm and insurance companies, but nothing that I couldn't have read elsewhere.
December 31, 2014
I enjoyed this conversation between two intelligent, thoughtful individuals about how a plant-based diet can change your health for the better. This might be a good book to start off with as it provides a compelling narrative without being weighed down in specific recommendations.
I'd give it a five except the last chapter, both conversationalists get into politics and public policy. And although they differ, and perhaps its useful to hear a nutritionist weigh in on Obamacare and Medicare (or why Dr. Popper is against banning large soda servings in NYC), I found it much less compelling than the rest of the book.
I'd give it a five except the last chapter, both conversationalists get into politics and public policy. And although they differ, and perhaps its useful to hear a nutritionist weigh in on Obamacare and Medicare (or why Dr. Popper is against banning large soda servings in NYC), I found it much less compelling than the rest of the book.
December 1, 2018
I agree with most of the dietary advice but her dismissal of the medical profession is alarming.
February 24, 2018
"The Affordable Care Act", President Obama's signature achievement, has nothing whatsoever to do with health. "Our real problem isn't the large number of uninsured, lamentable as that fact may be. Our real problems are obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and all the other ailments that come from eating foods like the cheeseburger (I love a good burger now and then.) In this country we raise and kill more then ten billion land animals a year, and kill another fifty three billion aquatic animals. Maybe we need some policy changes in this country to fix what is really ailing Americans and their mental well-being. Maybe taxing the carnage would be a good idea.
These are some statements from the book, albeit, out of context slightly. We have real issues confronting us today and if we don't get to the root of the problem and do it quickly, we can kiss our sorry, ailing asses goodbye, because the medical industry is out on a high-fat lunch, and insurance companies are no longer our friends and will not and cannot help us if we don't first help ourselves. This is a great conversation and I love this book, the material is so incredibly important and everyone should read it. Recently, we have had an explosive and inexplicable increase in shootings, killings, road rage, and now in the past ten years, massacres; the anger is amping up, exponentially and no one knows where to turn or who to blame, fingers pointing in every direction, except one. No one is addressing the issue of poor diet and overeating. We are a nation of obese and depressed citizens, resorting to drugs and alcohol at alarming rates. It is time to address what we are putting in our mouths and how much of it. Most diseases and illnesses can be prevented or even reversed. Americans are not the only ones, however; but we are leading the way in massive sicknesses stemming from the excess fat, sugar and gluten in our diets. WE don't drink enough water (64 0z, per day, minimum) and we don't eat enough plant-based foods. We are using our bodies as toxic dumping sites and thinking: "not me", "I will be fine". The sad fact is we are not fine. Studies have been done, and this book talks about many of them, naming names, and sharing books and research, compiled, that we may even be able to turn around mental illness, if we just stop eating crap. In Miami, a study was done on a group of "at risk" violent teens. They changed their diets and these kids behavior was significantly turned around for a majority of them. WE can take these needed food policies a step further and go into schools and our jails and put plant-based, diets, incorporated with good grains, beans, brown rice, veggies and fruit, eliminate meat, dairy and gluten and clear the fog from our kids heads, and the convicts, (it would be cheaper for the taxpayer.) What a great idea, why hasn't this been done already? Because there is much money to be made in Big Agra and the AMA has a stake in our bad health too. The USDA is corrupt, and their advice on what we should eat has never been correct. The sicker we are, the more money some of these agencies make; there is currently no impetus to change anything, so we must get educated and make changes amongst ourselves. Save our own lives and save the planet in the meantime. I think diet is crucial to overall health and well-being. WE will always have environmental factors to tackle and now with the increase of wireless and other brain-sapping technologies, it is even more important to take care of the one blessed body we were each given at birth. READ IT, it may save your life or someone you know! Excellent, job, Ms. Popper!
These are some statements from the book, albeit, out of context slightly. We have real issues confronting us today and if we don't get to the root of the problem and do it quickly, we can kiss our sorry, ailing asses goodbye, because the medical industry is out on a high-fat lunch, and insurance companies are no longer our friends and will not and cannot help us if we don't first help ourselves. This is a great conversation and I love this book, the material is so incredibly important and everyone should read it. Recently, we have had an explosive and inexplicable increase in shootings, killings, road rage, and now in the past ten years, massacres; the anger is amping up, exponentially and no one knows where to turn or who to blame, fingers pointing in every direction, except one. No one is addressing the issue of poor diet and overeating. We are a nation of obese and depressed citizens, resorting to drugs and alcohol at alarming rates. It is time to address what we are putting in our mouths and how much of it. Most diseases and illnesses can be prevented or even reversed. Americans are not the only ones, however; but we are leading the way in massive sicknesses stemming from the excess fat, sugar and gluten in our diets. WE don't drink enough water (64 0z, per day, minimum) and we don't eat enough plant-based foods. We are using our bodies as toxic dumping sites and thinking: "not me", "I will be fine". The sad fact is we are not fine. Studies have been done, and this book talks about many of them, naming names, and sharing books and research, compiled, that we may even be able to turn around mental illness, if we just stop eating crap. In Miami, a study was done on a group of "at risk" violent teens. They changed their diets and these kids behavior was significantly turned around for a majority of them. WE can take these needed food policies a step further and go into schools and our jails and put plant-based, diets, incorporated with good grains, beans, brown rice, veggies and fruit, eliminate meat, dairy and gluten and clear the fog from our kids heads, and the convicts, (it would be cheaper for the taxpayer.) What a great idea, why hasn't this been done already? Because there is much money to be made in Big Agra and the AMA has a stake in our bad health too. The USDA is corrupt, and their advice on what we should eat has never been correct. The sicker we are, the more money some of these agencies make; there is currently no impetus to change anything, so we must get educated and make changes amongst ourselves. Save our own lives and save the planet in the meantime. I think diet is crucial to overall health and well-being. WE will always have environmental factors to tackle and now with the increase of wireless and other brain-sapping technologies, it is even more important to take care of the one blessed body we were each given at birth. READ IT, it may save your life or someone you know! Excellent, job, Ms. Popper!
June 9, 2015
AMAZING AND VERY EYE OPENING!
I think this is the greatest and life altering book I have ever read!!! I had been on my own path to finding these same answers, of taking charge of my health when doctors wouldn't do it, and this book confirms everything I was discovering. I was diagnosed with hashimoto's thyroiditis and was put of medication I was told I would always have to take. I got sicker and sicker until I was barely the walking dead, hardly going through the motions of living. When doctors wouldn't do anything about it, I did my own research. I adopted a vegan diet (initially for the love of animal animals, and secondly for my health) and my auto immune disease went into remission and I never felt so good! Then I back slid and started eating dairy again and all my symptoms started coming back. After only a couple of days of cutting the dairy, the symptoms began to recede again. Makes sense to me. I also haven't taken any medication in 2 years now. After reading this book, I don't know why anyone, myself included, would want to eat your way into sickness. It is a learning process to change your eating, but if you've ever felt your health decline it is worth re-educating yourself. This book is amazing and I wish every single person knew this information! Thank you to the authors for getting this information to the public!!!
I think this is the greatest and life altering book I have ever read!!! I had been on my own path to finding these same answers, of taking charge of my health when doctors wouldn't do it, and this book confirms everything I was discovering. I was diagnosed with hashimoto's thyroiditis and was put of medication I was told I would always have to take. I got sicker and sicker until I was barely the walking dead, hardly going through the motions of living. When doctors wouldn't do anything about it, I did my own research. I adopted a vegan diet (initially for the love of animal animals, and secondly for my health) and my auto immune disease went into remission and I never felt so good! Then I back slid and started eating dairy again and all my symptoms started coming back. After only a couple of days of cutting the dairy, the symptoms began to recede again. Makes sense to me. I also haven't taken any medication in 2 years now. After reading this book, I don't know why anyone, myself included, would want to eat your way into sickness. It is a learning process to change your eating, but if you've ever felt your health decline it is worth re-educating yourself. This book is amazing and I wish every single person knew this information! Thank you to the authors for getting this information to the public!!!
August 19, 2013
It is too bad that the book is written as an interview. Dr Popper's theory is radical for Americans and she should have given more examples of how someone could maintain this diet. She criticizes the main stream health care professional for not give concrete instructions but she is also guilty of that in this book. Most people will never have an opportunity to go to her Wellness forum in Ohio. The few recipes she gives are not something the average person will cook. It would have been better to do a low fat vegan diet for dummies version of recipes too. Sample weekly meal plans would be great too.
October 16, 2018
If you want to take control of your health and your healthcare, read this book.
July 1, 2013
The information imparted was pretty good, but the conversation framework was stilted. I think Dr. Popper is a bit naive if she really believes that people will eat a lowfat vegan diet without question when they find out that it will cure their diabetes/heart disease/insert medical issue here. I've known for years that it would lower my cholesterol even more if I stopped eating ice cream and pizza all together, but can't quite make the leap.
July 3, 2022
Terrible. Had to stop reading at chapter 8 - so much nonsense. 0/5
August 22, 2019
Written in conversation form, this is very easy to read. The information cements the feeling that this is the dietary lifestyle I need.
I always thought as a gluten-free, low-sugar, semi-vegetarian (eating meat 2 times a month, plus dairy and eggs) I ate healthily. I was kind of stumped when I got sick, when I needed to run to the bathroom 6+ times a bloody day, when I caught a cough that I still can't shake after 4 months, when my hair started to fall out . . .
Then I started paying closer attention to what I was eating. The first thing I noticed was I'd slipped and gotten lazy with making sure I didn't consume gluten. When I tightened that up, I cut my trips to the loo in half.
But still, I needed to do more.
In preparation for a colonoscopy, I had to cut dairy for a week. It cut my toilet trips by another third and my skin started clearing up (I am a PCOS cyster). So I decided, hmmm, maybe there's something to this? I decided to refrain from reintroducing dairy into my diet.
When I finally had my appointment to see the GI specialist, I was immediately put on Salofalk 3gram and 1 gram (morning and night) and was told I would likely have to be on this medication a long time. There was no conversation about diet.
I believe in medicine, I do. I'm grateful to have something to help me when I really need it (I'm not in remission yet, but doing much better). But I don't want to blindly accept that I have to be on medication for years without researching and understanding UC and the long term effects of taking medication first.
If there are ways to live without chronic inflammation that I can manage through my diet and lifestyle, I want to exhaust these options first.
This book is giving me the courage to talk to my doctors about trying a dietary approach.
I am afraid of hearing statistics from a doctor about how most people who come off medication have another flare within a year. That kind of rhetoric scares me and makes me extremely nervous about trying a dietary approach, even though in my gut (haha) I feel that this is the right thing to try.
I came across this book after watching this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJj0N... on Ulcerative Colitis/Crohn's.
In my case, while I thought I was healthy on the semi-vegetarian diet, I was snacking on nuts like no ones business (brazil, walnut, pistacios, almonds, everything), and I was using coconut milk products several times a week. After watching the above and reading some studies that suggest myristic acid (found in coconut oil, palm oil and dairy) and alpha linolenic acid (found in flaxseeds, canola oil, soybeans, pumpkin seeds, walnuts) may be associated with increased risk of relapse, I feel it possibly contributed to my current flare.
Well. I'm willing to see what happens if I adopt the diet suggested in this book!
I'm starting the general diet today while I'm still on medication, and will look into the UC diet approach once I have my doctors on board about going off meds.
Thank you Pamela Popper! I wish I lived in the States to attend your events!
I always thought as a gluten-free, low-sugar, semi-vegetarian (eating meat 2 times a month, plus dairy and eggs) I ate healthily. I was kind of stumped when I got sick, when I needed to run to the bathroom 6+ times a bloody day, when I caught a cough that I still can't shake after 4 months, when my hair started to fall out . . .
Then I started paying closer attention to what I was eating. The first thing I noticed was I'd slipped and gotten lazy with making sure I didn't consume gluten. When I tightened that up, I cut my trips to the loo in half.
But still, I needed to do more.
In preparation for a colonoscopy, I had to cut dairy for a week. It cut my toilet trips by another third and my skin started clearing up (I am a PCOS cyster). So I decided, hmmm, maybe there's something to this? I decided to refrain from reintroducing dairy into my diet.
When I finally had my appointment to see the GI specialist, I was immediately put on Salofalk 3gram and 1 gram (morning and night) and was told I would likely have to be on this medication a long time. There was no conversation about diet.
I believe in medicine, I do. I'm grateful to have something to help me when I really need it (I'm not in remission yet, but doing much better). But I don't want to blindly accept that I have to be on medication for years without researching and understanding UC and the long term effects of taking medication first.
If there are ways to live without chronic inflammation that I can manage through my diet and lifestyle, I want to exhaust these options first.
This book is giving me the courage to talk to my doctors about trying a dietary approach.
I am afraid of hearing statistics from a doctor about how most people who come off medication have another flare within a year. That kind of rhetoric scares me and makes me extremely nervous about trying a dietary approach, even though in my gut (haha) I feel that this is the right thing to try.
I came across this book after watching this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJj0N... on Ulcerative Colitis/Crohn's.
In my case, while I thought I was healthy on the semi-vegetarian diet, I was snacking on nuts like no ones business (brazil, walnut, pistacios, almonds, everything), and I was using coconut milk products several times a week. After watching the above and reading some studies that suggest myristic acid (found in coconut oil, palm oil and dairy) and alpha linolenic acid (found in flaxseeds, canola oil, soybeans, pumpkin seeds, walnuts) may be associated with increased risk of relapse, I feel it possibly contributed to my current flare.
Well. I'm willing to see what happens if I adopt the diet suggested in this book!
I'm starting the general diet today while I'm still on medication, and will look into the UC diet approach once I have my doctors on board about going off meds.
Thank you Pamela Popper! I wish I lived in the States to attend your events!
February 8, 2018
A quick read with good information however the format of an interview got old after the first chapter.
June 26, 2020
The answer always is, change your diet. Americans are killing themselves with bad food. Medicine only hides the symptoms of simmering illness.
March 5, 2017
I have mixed feelings about this book, which is why I give it 3 stars. I selected the book because of my interest in the benefits of a whole food plant based diet. In particular, I am interested in the ability of such a diet to fuel strength and endurance athletes.
The book is written as a conversation between Pamela Popper, Ph.D., ND and Glen Merzer. Popper is Executive Director of The Wellness Forum and appears in the film Forks over Knives. Merzer is an author who has written numerous books (including a novel!!) about plant based diets.
The authors provide well documented support for the health benefits of a plant based diet. Popper explains the reasons for conflicting stories we hear about the benefit vs non-benefit of various single foods. There are numerous design flaws in most nutrition studies reported on the news and in the lay press. It is impossible to evaluate the long term health benefit of single foods or food groups. I buy her explanation.
I also accept that athletes can thrive on the plant based diet. There are numerous examples, including Venus Williams, Carl Lewis, and Dale Scott (iron man winner). Athletes don't need a high protein diet.
Popper indicates that to reap the true benefit of a whole food plant based (WFPB) diet, you can't cheat. Moderation is not enough. You don't eat much "healthy fat". Step away from that avocado!! A tiny bit of fat is ok. That's it. She uses the metaphor of a combination lock. You have to get ALL numbers correct, or the lock does not open. I'll give it a try.
The book included some recipes from the Forks over Knives kitchen. They look tasty and not too complicated.
The second half of the book criticizes the businesses and government agencies that lead Americans away from a WFPB diet. Most of the information is probably accurate.
I don't agree with Poppers criticism of FDA drug review. I work at FDA and know that her statements are inaccurate.
Some of the information about drug industry creating new illnesses and new treatment endpoints (curing biomarkers, not people) is feasible.
The end of the book includes broad claims about the societal impact of wide acceptance of a WFPB diet. In theory, the information is reasonable. However, I don't see Americans giving up their poor food choices any time soon. Maybe better information and more support from the government and less lobbying by the food industry could help.
I will watch the story unfold as I eat my bowl of quinoa, beans, and veggies.
September 9, 2019
The first half of this book was extremely interesting and I got a lot out of it. The second half not so much.. I guess I do need to admit I’m not from America so the politics there don’t really interest me and the WHOLE CHAPTER on case studies got really boring really fast
There’s some good advice in here, but not many take aways that you can implement straight away other than eating a plant based diet (but there is no info on how to start ect)
Didn’t enjoy that this book was written as an interview, the two voices were very similar and I couldn’t really pay attention to who was speaking at any given time - which made the book a little hard to process at times.
There’s some good advice in here, but not many take aways that you can implement straight away other than eating a plant based diet (but there is no info on how to start ect)
Didn’t enjoy that this book was written as an interview, the two voices were very similar and I couldn’t really pay attention to who was speaking at any given time - which made the book a little hard to process at times.
June 17, 2013
This book presents an alternative to our unhealthy practice of eating things that we know are bad for us and then trying to compensate for it with medication or being surprised that after years of abuse, our bodies become sick. It makes it a real possibility to eat a plant based diet that nourishes the body and naturally fights off disease. We have received so much bad information about what to eat. This makes it much simpler.
May 7, 2017
Manifesto! That would be my one word summary for this book. Is it absolutely correct? Probably, but the dialogue and the message is so off-putting you don't really care. It may work for some people, like listening to shock radio personality. It didn't work for me. With repeated I'm always right message paired with the Q&A dialogue of the book, it just doesn't work. I do believe food can work better than medicine. Read Dr. Andrew Weil's 8 Weeks to Optimum Health.
October 7, 2013
I was hesitant to read this book, as i didn't like the format that it was written in. The book is written as a conversation between two people about the state of American's health. This is the best book that I've read in a long time. I checked it out from the library but will be purchasing a copy for myself.
September 1, 2024
Lots of great information, if you can ignore how self-serving the tone is. Skip the last chapter - it's irrelevant and outdated.
December 5, 2019
I do a lot of discussions regarding health, nutrition and chronic pain on my blog in Days and Nights with Fibro, because I am trying like crazy to help folks who suffer from this condition and other syndromes that defy treatments. And I had a team of naturopathic doctors since 1970, including the premier Dr Leo Bolles, of Bellevue WA. I agree with the premise that eating can help about 90% of our health problems and that with good guidance with a naturopathic doctor who has done their 8 years plus degree can be an immeasurable help to anyone who is trying to heal themselves, trying to understand the convoluted mess that nutrition has become and can certainly direct you individually what is best for YOUR body and YOUR health.
Dr Bolles was a full fledged doctor, not "doctor" of nutrition not someone who took 500 hours to get their licensure. He was licensed in the state of Washington. I want to make this really clear. His intention in working with clients included nutrition, healing of the endocrine systems, and he used TESTS that helped his patients, especially if they were sick. He prescribed supplements, he prescribed medicine if it could not be helped in any other way, because he believed that patients care was important over politics, over any agenda. He even spent time treating patients in the hospital visiting them, making sure his patients were being properly treated, and often worked with doctors over procedures and his findings as well. He worked in concert with his patients.
I am really, really trying to explain something a little wrong here, when Pamela seems to want to suggest that most testings are dangerous and not warranted, even in cases of cervical dysplasia, or severe UTIs etc don't require testing or treatment.
Now, I will say this; when listening to her videos on Youtube, or reading her book, it becomes very clear that her approach isn't individual, isn't based on individual blood testing (for deficiencies, for baseline, for anything that medicine requires), and she advocates against Cryoscope for cervical dysplasia, she advocates against UTI urine tests, and against very serious testing that could save organs, save the patient from worse pain and from worse health issues.
My husband and I spent a good deal of time trying to find out what her credentialing came from and were unable to find her credentials from Ohio, nor what school she attended, or how she is licensed to give this kind of expertise statements, which doesn't make a lot of sense.
Naturopathic medicine has always had their critics which is why various pioneers in the field were very careful to have their credentialing visible out in the open. This is necessary and in many clinics the credentialing in the waiting room, in their office as well as in exam rooms to show their years of experience It was a red flag to me that she seems to be deadset against testing which doesn't make sense from the prospective of having spent time with naturopathic doctors who certainly are cautious about over testing, but would want you to have basic baseline tests so they can best direct you towards your care. So please, listen to your body, listen to other nutritionists who will individually address YOUR needs and suggest food choices that make sense to you, and respects your health enough to give you support when you need specialized testing to keep your body healthy.
Dr Bolles was a full fledged doctor, not "doctor" of nutrition not someone who took 500 hours to get their licensure. He was licensed in the state of Washington. I want to make this really clear. His intention in working with clients included nutrition, healing of the endocrine systems, and he used TESTS that helped his patients, especially if they were sick. He prescribed supplements, he prescribed medicine if it could not be helped in any other way, because he believed that patients care was important over politics, over any agenda. He even spent time treating patients in the hospital visiting them, making sure his patients were being properly treated, and often worked with doctors over procedures and his findings as well. He worked in concert with his patients.
I am really, really trying to explain something a little wrong here, when Pamela seems to want to suggest that most testings are dangerous and not warranted, even in cases of cervical dysplasia, or severe UTIs etc don't require testing or treatment.
Now, I will say this; when listening to her videos on Youtube, or reading her book, it becomes very clear that her approach isn't individual, isn't based on individual blood testing (for deficiencies, for baseline, for anything that medicine requires), and she advocates against Cryoscope for cervical dysplasia, she advocates against UTI urine tests, and against very serious testing that could save organs, save the patient from worse pain and from worse health issues.
My husband and I spent a good deal of time trying to find out what her credentialing came from and were unable to find her credentials from Ohio, nor what school she attended, or how she is licensed to give this kind of expertise statements, which doesn't make a lot of sense.
Naturopathic medicine has always had their critics which is why various pioneers in the field were very careful to have their credentialing visible out in the open. This is necessary and in many clinics the credentialing in the waiting room, in their office as well as in exam rooms to show their years of experience It was a red flag to me that she seems to be deadset against testing which doesn't make sense from the prospective of having spent time with naturopathic doctors who certainly are cautious about over testing, but would want you to have basic baseline tests so they can best direct you towards your care. So please, listen to your body, listen to other nutritionists who will individually address YOUR needs and suggest food choices that make sense to you, and respects your health enough to give you support when you need specialized testing to keep your body healthy.
November 21, 2018
I have mixed feelings about this book. Anybody eating the typical North American diet would probably save their lives by reading this and taking it to heart. The format of one big long discussion is approachable making the book unlike many other dry nutritional reads. The chapter on case studies could have been dropped. It’s nice but purely anecdotal and doesn’t lend credence to the advice. Generally the advice given is spot on, especially for people that are obese or have heart conditions. I think they over demonize fats like nuts. Nuts, seeds, avocados are all whole food fats and likely a good addition to most people’s diets. Though their advice on oils has merit. Nutrition gets a bit silly when we demonize one macro-nutrient. Sort of like the Keto people and their nonsense about carbs ignoring that whole food fruits etc are beneficial. This book does say fats are essential but then recommends reducing them to pretty low levels. I’m not one to spend effort measuring macros, nor do I think anyone should. I think they are a little hard on doctors as well. Mostly right, but possibly a touch mean-spirited. Overall a very good book for someone that’s tried a million diets and has failing health. Following the advice given would very much improve the health outlook of the vast majority of our population.
October 30, 2022
Nominally, a book about the values of a vegan diet. In practice it becomes a diatribe against anything dairy and/or meat. The consideration of vegetables is not well developed. It is stunning in the limitations of its scope in this respect. The sections dealing with the intrusion by corporate interests is actually quite good. The whole concept of depletion of the soils in which they grow is absent. The idea of vitamin and mineral support is arbitrarily dismissed in remarkably mainstream medical terms. The argument runs that doctors too have been subverted by corporate interests yet, somehow, we should listen to them. Her venture into the political world was probably the most striking. Her view is that affordable Healthcare is bad because it doesn't go far enough and the only way to improve is to go back to a day when there was none. Same story for Medicare. In the same section in which she talks about how Medicare is bankrupting the country she gives implicit support to unlimited military spending. Both a wide digression from what her opening focus was. The book has very little substance regarding the implementation of a vegan diet, and what there is lacks practicality. Entire sections of the population are dismissed with the turn of a phrase. As I said earlier, astounding. It reads like an infomercial gone bad.
Possibly the most unethical food and nutrition book I've read to date. At one point she actually says take all of your bad food and bring it to a food pantry, church, or food bank and give it to them. Them get the good stuff for yourself. Not well written. Full of discontinuities, and logoc gaps. There may be some who this book would help and if it does, good for them. What popper knows about nutrition is oddly skewed toward a medical model and algorithmic thinking. It's vague and not terribly well based. These are generalities, but that's mostly what the book is. My question coming out of it is whether to just trash it, recycle it, or pass it on to folks who don't care.
One might, reasonably, conclude that I was not favorably impressed. Further, it is not on my recommended list.
Possibly the most unethical food and nutrition book I've read to date. At one point she actually says take all of your bad food and bring it to a food pantry, church, or food bank and give it to them. Them get the good stuff for yourself. Not well written. Full of discontinuities, and logoc gaps. There may be some who this book would help and if it does, good for them. What popper knows about nutrition is oddly skewed toward a medical model and algorithmic thinking. It's vague and not terribly well based. These are generalities, but that's mostly what the book is. My question coming out of it is whether to just trash it, recycle it, or pass it on to folks who don't care.
One might, reasonably, conclude that I was not favorably impressed. Further, it is not on my recommended list.
October 29, 2022
Some very interesting ideas and information presented… I don’t agree with everything… I don’t think Barack Obama was a good choice for President… I do NOT think Bill Clinton LOOKS healthy, regardless of age, so I don’t know if he IS healthy or not… I don’t want to eat tofu… I have just recently started to try the elimination of ALL animal products and give the vegan diet/lifestyle a try. My initial response on it is two days of many bouts of diarrhea… so I’m currently a little discouraged and grossed out… but I will keep trying and reading to learn more… and will continue to try to find the key to good health and longevity. The ideas about limiting avocadoes and limiting olives / olive oil intake are different than what many of the other authors are saying, some medical doctors, some no. Most of these writers say get as much EVOO into your system as you can. Well, EVOO tastes TERRIBLE, whether it’s good or bad for you. While I disagree with Popper and Merzer on some of the statements they’ve made, I would agree that we all are responsible for our own health and we should try to learn how to eat and otherwise live a lifestyle (exercise, work, play, learn, sleep, etc.) that allows us to live a long time and live a high-quality life.
September 13, 2022
A “conversation” that discusses a specific dietary lifestyle. I hated this book. The interview style was disingenuous and the entire conversation was clearly crafted as a marketing scheme for the dietary plan they are selling. Some of the tactics used in this “conversation” included gaslighting people who are not “thin,” oversimplifying complicated medical conditions such as Chrons and ulcerative colitis.
So here’s the thing: I don’t disagree with the diet proposed or concerns unearthed in this book. What I DO disagree with, is the attempt to position *this* diet as pure and perfect, while sh*tt*ng on all decisions that aren’t being promoted in this book. There was a lot of political posturing (I.e. “as a democrat” and “as a progressive”) that was followed up by “non-partisanship” claims. There was so much judgment emitting from these pages that my stomach started to hurt. I thought we moved away from thinness as a marker for health?
The lack of understanding and awareness of the human condition in this book was pungent. I’ll be glad to return this book to the library
So here’s the thing: I don’t disagree with the diet proposed or concerns unearthed in this book. What I DO disagree with, is the attempt to position *this* diet as pure and perfect, while sh*tt*ng on all decisions that aren’t being promoted in this book. There was a lot of political posturing (I.e. “as a democrat” and “as a progressive”) that was followed up by “non-partisanship” claims. There was so much judgment emitting from these pages that my stomach started to hurt. I thought we moved away from thinness as a marker for health?
The lack of understanding and awareness of the human condition in this book was pungent. I’ll be glad to return this book to the library
June 5, 2024
A transcripted interview type book with a lot of good information (I read a lot of books on plant-based nutrition out of personal and scientific interest). And warranting the fact that majority of the world needs a harsh reality check (directed to USA predominantly) how terrible Western diet and medicine is, it is indeed a bit harsh and forthcoming.
Western medicine unfortunately has the "bandaid" approach to health issues, and will treat or remove the symptom instead of addressing the underlying cause. Pam talks about this well and underlines the importance of addressing our health at the source - with a clean, nutritious, plant-based diet. Removing the processed, the dairy, the unnatural, the meat will fix nearly every problem on our health checklist, and nearly eliminating every medication and/or surgery needed to apparently rectify the situation.
There is a time and place for Western medicine, and technology has taken us to a crazy place, so I personally found her statements to be quite overkill sometimes. Near the end of the book I was actually quite frustrated
Western medicine unfortunately has the "bandaid" approach to health issues, and will treat or remove the symptom instead of addressing the underlying cause. Pam talks about this well and underlines the importance of addressing our health at the source - with a clean, nutritious, plant-based diet. Removing the processed, the dairy, the unnatural, the meat will fix nearly every problem on our health checklist, and nearly eliminating every medication and/or surgery needed to apparently rectify the situation.
There is a time and place for Western medicine, and technology has taken us to a crazy place, so I personally found her statements to be quite overkill sometimes. Near the end of the book I was actually quite frustrated
December 30, 2024
Although I am all for eating healthy, and Pam does have some good ideas, I did find this book a little uncomfortable and disturbing in some areas, especially around her ideas about health. Although I am not opposed to a plant-based diet, she preaches that it is the be-all, end-all, which contrary to the wonders of evolution, there is a reason why we have been omnivores before we were homo-sapiens. She does though preach the right ideas about our bad diet, but then Fs it up with ideas about health, like believing that osteoporosis is all 'in out heads' and is a myth, that pap smears are over rated (tell that to any woman who has had cancer) and that dairy products and fat are the root of all evil, yet we know that this is NOT the case, and there is a whole lot of other advice about health issues which really should not be adhered to. Although there are some ideas which are good in this book, it needs to be read with eyes wide open.
January 11, 2018
Unless you're already a vegan without a sweet tooth who has the occasional alcoholic beverage, this book is not designed to make you feel warm and fuzzy about your food choices. Popper, a naturopath, does not sugar coat her message, or anything else for that matter since sugar in the diet is pretty much verboten. But I found the book helpfully informative and candidly honest with regards to dietary and healthcare advice. The authors try to cut through the vast amounts of misinformation the American public is fed by the power players in government and the food industry. I'm not signing up for the vegan diet but am certainly persuaded to cut back animal protein to twice a week or less and take a harder line on sugar intake.
December 11, 2017
Written by two medical and nutritional professionals this book will be appreciated by anyone looking for credible and easy to understand information on Whole Food Plant Based Diet and the connections between Big Pharma, agricultural lobby, government, medical education and dietary recommendations for general population. For both new beginners and very seasoned health enthusiasts the book is able to offer many interesting points and food for thought. Written in a form of dialogue it will keep the reader engaged throughout the entire read and definitely get many of the often asked questions answered.
April 16, 2020
If you wonder why the western world has been on a steep rise in obesity and chronic disease, this book should be in your top 5 to read! Dr. Popper is one of the leading, vocal advocates for taking control of your health and diet. Do yourself a favor and search her out on YouTube. She is data driven, and makes sharp assertions that are often hard for people to hear. This book is written in an easy to read question and answer format between the two authors. Books like this and documentaries like Forks over Knives help provide motivation and guidance for people seeking to change their health once they decide they are ready.
December 13, 2020
I really wanted to enjoy this more.
There's a lot of very important information in this book, and I've made a few changes in my lifestyle after reading it. The conversation style formatting was also refreshing & did help me absorb the information more easily.
... but...I didn't love the tone of the authors. I know it was unintentional, but they came off quite 'know-it-all', and there was too much reference to the Wellness Forum.
The second half of the book also got less clear & repetitive. I feel the book would be more motivating and actionable for readers if it was shortened by 1/3 and included a list summarizing the key takeaways.
There's a lot of very important information in this book, and I've made a few changes in my lifestyle after reading it. The conversation style formatting was also refreshing & did help me absorb the information more easily.
... but...I didn't love the tone of the authors. I know it was unintentional, but they came off quite 'know-it-all', and there was too much reference to the Wellness Forum.
The second half of the book also got less clear & repetitive. I feel the book would be more motivating and actionable for readers if it was shortened by 1/3 and included a list summarizing the key takeaways.
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